The Red String Around Your Finger
by HyugaHimeSama
Summary: Hinata has only had eyes for Naruto, he is her sunny place. But things don't always go as we want them to. Some times the best things come from the most unexpected places. Love can bloom even in the shadows.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san.

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Chapter 1

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata called out his name in a whisper. She reached out her hand to touch his bare back. He was awake, but she wasn't aware of it. He turned around. "It's getting late, I must go back home"

Naruto rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand, then laid one heavy arm on top of Hinata. "Hn" was all he said.

Although Hinata was old enough to do as she pleased, there was the etiquette that a Hyuga, specially a heiress should not break. She smiled. Sliding the weight of his hand off of her, she stood up from their shared bed, picked up her clothes and started dressing herself.

Naruto just stayed in bed, hands behind his head and resting on a pillow. He watched her slide her shirt on. "Are you coming back tomorrow night?" he asked.

"I don't have a mission, so I don't think I can." Hinata had just gotten back into town after a short mission. Nobody knew she was in Naruto's apartment. She fidgeted with her shoes a little, wasting a bit of time, hoping Naruto would ask her to stay.

He got up from his side of the bed, completely nude. Hinata blushed at his sight. "I don't have a mission either. Let's meet up for lunch" This brightened Hinata's eyes. She was ecstatic, but tried her best not to show it too much.

She nodded. She opened the door to his apartment, Naruto still wearing nothing but his birthday suit. "Bye, see you tomorrow" she said, "See ya at noon" and he smiled.

She exited and the door shut behind her.

* * *

She couldn't help but feel a bit empty. Was she expecting too much out of Naruto. A goodbye kiss would have been nice. But the joy she was feeling made her push those feelings aside. As she made her way to the Hyuga compound, she started to feel uneasy. She felt bad that she had to sneak around to see Naruto. It's not like other people didn't know about her feelings toward him, but what would they say if they knew that she at his apartment on such hours at night. For any other woman it would have been fine. But she was a Hyuga, things aren't just that simple.

She walked into the premises. From afar Neji watched Hinata sneak into her own home. He knew something was up. But who was he to ask her of her whereabouts. He had finished his mission a day in anticipation. He was exhausted, all he wanted to do was to get to his futon. Skip the shower.

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A/N: So I found the story I wrote a while back, turns out it was in spanish. I was going to translate it, but changed my mind in some parts of the plot. So I started with this. I'm a new writer, so reviews encourage me (well, what writer doesn't like reviews eh? unless it's flaming ha!) No flaming please, if you don't like the couples, please don't read it. Thank you for taking your time in reading my fic. NejiHina forever 3 (Even if Neji is currently dead, I still ship on)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Morning couldn't come any slower. Hinata laid in her futon staring up at the dark ceiling. Butterflies churning in her stomach. She remembered Naruto's kisses, she was so happy she felt she was floating. She felt giddy. Biting her lower lip she hugged her pillow tighter. Hoping a certain blond haired guy appeared in her dreams.

On the other side of her adjoining wall. Neji could hear Hinata squeal and shuffle. She might have thought nobody noticed her rendezvous with Naruto. Maybe some people really didn't notice. After all, Hinata was very much like a wallflower. But to his ever watchful eyes, and as his protector, he knew what was going on. He sighed and closed his eyes.

* * *

Neji awoke early, just as the sun was coming up from the horizon. He felt he urgently needed that shower he skipped. He fastened the sash for his yukata and slid the shoji door from his room. Heading down the hall he couldn't help but be curious to know if Hinata was in her room. He stopped for a second, concentrated his hearing. Nothing. She must have also woken up early.

After a nice cold shower and his daily meditation, he made his way to the kitchen. "Oh, Good morning Neji-niisan!" He was greeted with a wide grinned smile from Hinata. "I didn't know you were home, I thought you would have come back later today. How was your mission?" Hinata seemed to be cooking some tamagoyaki. "I'm cooking, would you like breakfast?"

Neji just stood there for a moment, then asserted with his head. "The mission went smoothly"

"I'm glad"

Over the last few days, Hinata had seemingly changed a bit. Of course she wasn't the shy, timid stammerer she used to be. Interactions between these two always came short. Only a courteous hellos, small talk, and a few smiles.

"I'll make some tea then" he offered.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I already got it, go sit down"

It's not that he didn't like to be served, well, by a certain someone. He quite enjoyed it, and this made him feel a bit awkward. But nobody would ever catch prodigy Neji feeling awkward. He was used to eating by himself. So, obediently he took a seat, and to his surprise his youngest cousin was already at the table, ready and waiting.

"Good morning Neji" Hanabi greeted.

"Good morning Hanabi-sama"

"Looks like we'll be having breakfast together as a family" she pointed out "too bad father isn't here today to join us"

Hinata came out of the kitchen with four plates, all looking deliciously good. "Wow sister, it looks yummy" Hanabi said excitedly. "But father isn't here today, he left really early to attend some business"

"Oh, Well... that's too bad, since Neji-niisan was joining us also, I thought it would be nice, I don't know what I should do with the extra food" Hinata said with a small pout.

"Just feed it to Neji, I'm sure he'll eat it" They both turned to see what Neji would say. He didn't want to make Hinata feel bad, so he nodded. "I'll eat it"

"Say, Hanabi, do you know what time father is coming back?" Hinata asked a bit sheepishly.

"I don't know, I didn't get a chance to talk to him before he left, he only informed me yesterday. We thought you would've came back from your mission earlier, you could have asked him then" then she raised an eyebrow at her "why?"

Hinata really didn't know how to react when she was nervous. She gave herself away, but like Neji, Hanabi didn't press any further, she saw how her sister reacted, and really she didn't care much.

"J-just wondering"

* * *

Tending to the flower she had planted earlier that spring, She was content on how much they were growing. She constantly kept watch of the time. It seemed to move slower that usual. But that's what happens when you anticipate something so much. It was starting to get warmer, and she went to go sit down under a tree bench. "_I should be training right now." _She thought. "_But I don't want to get over worked_."

_"Ok, I will take my mission report to the Hokage, and take my time, that should kill the time in the meanwhile"_

While in her room, she was looking at her clothes, trying to pick out what she was going to wear. It was a date she was going to. A date with Naruto. No training clothes, or her regular clothes. She wanted to look cute, besides traditional kimonos and yukatas, she really didn't have many other clothes to wear. In the back of her closet, she found a white dress she had quite forgotten she had. Perfect.

She put it on, and it didn't look half as bad. She pictured herself holding hands with Naruto, walking through the park. Knowing Naruto, they would most likely eat at Ichirakus.

How had this come to be? She was reminiscing the events that lead up to now. She remembered the first time she told Naruto she loved him. In the midst of battle. Crazy. Naruto had later told her that he also cared for her as well. Not what she was expecting. But she convinced herself that Naruto was really dense. And her being shy didn't help at all.

Only after the third ninja war. When things has settled back to normal. Hinata was at the Hokage building, and as coincidence goes, Naruto was there as well. He came up to her and gave her a hug. She remembers telling herself not to faint. Red as a tomato, she was super happy. Naruto had never done anything as such.

They got talking, and really, time sure went by fast. They were at the park, dark outside already. When Naruto got close to Hinata and kissed her. The surprise caught her off guard. But she had fantasized about this moment many times, she didn't freak out. Inexperienced as she was, his lips molded into hers. One thing led to another, and just a few days from that first day, Hinata found herself in his apartment. Willingly giving herself to him. Although it made her feel a bit cheap that she lost her virginity in a matter of a few days, it didn't bother her so much because it was him, the one she loved. And although it wasn't official, she thought maybe today was the day. The day Naruto would make it official to the whole Konoha. She couldn't wait.

* * *

After dropping off her report to Tsunade's guards, she headed to the park where they had their first kiss. Twenty minutes early, she decided to ride the swings. "Hinata-chan!" She felt two hands grab her sides and it made her jump.

"You're early" It was Naruto, who was also five minutes early.

"I didn't want to make you wait" she smiled.

"I hope you're hungry!" Naruto said excitedly "Is ramen okay?"

Hinata giggled. "I'd love some"

She got off the swing and they started walking. "You look cute" he complimented.

She blushed. "Thank you."

Walking side by side, Naruto had his hands behind his head. Hinata fidgeted a bit with her hands. She built up some courage and pulled Naruto by his shirt. He instantly turned down to see her. "Oh, hehe, sorry. Here hook your arm to mine" It wasn't what she imagined, but it was still like a dream come true. Walking in plain daylight, with him by her side.

They went under the tent for Ichiraku Ramen. "Hey uncle!" Naruto greeted happily "What would you like Hinata-chan?"

"Um, I'll have the same as you..."

"We'll take two pork miso, extra ramen please!" It seemed as if Naruto was drooling when he ordered. "Sorry Hinata, I skipped breakfast, I woke up late, almost thought it was past noon"

Hinata giggled. "It's quite alright, you must be really hungry then"

"You bet!"

As soon as their bowl were placed in front of them, Naruto had his chopsticks ready "Itadakimasu!"

Naruto seemed to devour his ramen. He really did love it, didn't he. Hinata had barely eaten half. "This is too much for me Naruto-kun"

"Would you mind if I ate it then?" Naruto asked

She shook her head and slid her bowl towards him "awesome!"

Hinata loved the way Naruto was so care free. In between slurps Naruto added "I would like to ask you something Hinata"

As he was slurping the last of his soup, to his other side a girl appeared. Smacking Naruto in the back of the head. "Naruto! eating ramen again!" Naruto seemed to choke a bit.

"Ah, Sakura-chan!" Naruto was happy to see his fellow team mate. "Are we still on for tonight?"

Suddenly, Hinata felt like a third wheel. She felt a bit pained by Naruto's reaction. She wanted to know what he was going to ask her before they got interrupted.

"Oh, hi Hinata! how are you?" Sakura acknowledged her presence. "What a nice coincidence" Hinata wanted to correct her, she wanted to tell her she was here on a date with Naruto, but she just smiled. No time to to reply either. She left as soon as she appeared saying "Be there!" and pointing at Naruto.

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A/N: Pleased excuse any typos or grammatical errors, As english is my second language and some times I forget how it's spoken, hahahahaha. But I mus say, my grammar is pretty good lol.

Oh also, In my story, Neji didn't die, He only got hurt. The story is set to um... let's say three years after the war, it's not going to be story line canon. Just letting you know.


End file.
